"All it takes is faith and trust..." (and a little bit of pixie dust)- Disney's Peter Pan
Faith and trust, belief and knowing. The similarities are many and the differences subtle. It was very interesting to discuss belief and knowing in class on Tuesday. It's a big concept to wrap your mind around and I'm still working on it. These are my thoughts:
I know I am a female homo sapien. But that is because I have faith in the people who decided that it was the proper name for the species and gender I belong to.
I also know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. But it is not because I have faith in the "fact based" historians or the Discovery Channel specials, I have faith in Him, in God, in the comfort that comes with the whole set of beliefs that the Catholic Church has passed on.
"Believing" tends to connote that there is something "assumed," that someone or something has persuaded you to have faith in a certain "truth." Beliefs often shift, grow, disappear, and continuously change.
I don't think knowing and believing are completely separate things. Knowledge can help clarify beliefs just as belief can be the driving factor to find knowledge in a certain area of your life.
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First of all, you quoted a Disney movie; that alone solicits a comment. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I think it's interesting that you equated your religious inclination to "knowing," where most people would associate faith with "believing." This just further proves how different people can interpret the terms "know" and "believe." You said that the Catholic Church has passed on a "whole set of beliefs," which I found interesting. What, to you, makes these things "beliefs" and not "facts"?
I love your quote at the beginning of your blog! Peter Pan is such a classic:) I agree with you in that the definitions of the terms mentioned in your blog are all similar, and that it is difficult to to determine the differences among them.
ReplyDeleteI too love the Peter Pan quote! I think that's a great connection about faith and trust and how really sometimes, we need to return to that mindset and just have a little faith in life.
ReplyDeleteTo answer Sam's question:
ReplyDeleteI said that the Church passed on a set of "beliefs" because it's more than just a history of Jesus and his work. It incorporates faith and facts, so people may have different interpretations and therefore, slightly different beliefs.